How to overcome long-term care talk avoidance

There’s an epidemic spreading quietly through the insurance world. It’s not a regulatory issue. It’s not market volatility. It’s not inflation. It’s something far more human — and far more damaging. I call it “LTC Talk Avoidance Syndrome.”

A recent study conducted by OneAmerica, in partnership with Hanover Research, sheds light on how advisors approach long-term care planning. In a survey of more than 400 advisors, only 54% said they currently recommend or offer LTC protection to their clients.

Interestingly, the study found that 25% had previously recommended LTC solutions but have since stopped doing so. Even more concerning, 21% admitted they’ve never offered any LTC protection at all.

This lack of engagement is troubling given the scale of the risk. According to the Administration for Community Living, nearly 70% of Americans over age 65 will need some form of long-term care at some point. That disconnect between the likelihood of needing long-term care and the percentage of advisors actively helping clients plan for it represents a missed opportunity — for both protection and meaningful client guidance.

LTC planning is one of the most urgent yet under-addressed aspects of modern risk management. For many clients, it’s the biggest financial threat they’ll face in retirement. Yet too many financial professionals shy away from the conversation.

Avoiding this conversation is not just a missed opportunity; it’s also a business risk. And for agents willing to step into this uncomfortable space with care, confidence and clarity, it’s also a competitive advantage that can’t be easily replicated.

The opportunity is huge. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 70% of Americans turning 65 will need some form of long-term care. Yet fewer than
1 in 25 Americans age 50 or older, just 4%, have a long-term care policy in place.

That’s not just a planning gap — it’s a gaping hole in the safety net. It’s a disconnect between what clients say they want — security, independence and dignity — and how they’re actually prepared to achieve it.

Keep clients from asking ‘What now?’

When a health crisis strikes, it’s often sudden and costly. Clients who thought they had everything figured out are blindsided. They turn to their trusted insurance professional and ask, “What now?” 

And if the answer is silence, or worse — “I meant to bring that up” — the consequences aren’t just financial; they’re also relational. They’re reputational. They’re long-lasting.

Many agents are masters of technical planning. They can discuss life insurance, annuities, tax strategies and asset protection with ease. These conversations are tidy. Quantifiable. Safe. But LTC? That’s messy. It’s emotional. It involves personal fears, family dynamics and hypothetical worst-case scenarios.

The irony is that those are the very elements that make LTC planning so powerful and so uniquely suited for agents who know how to build deep, lasting relationships. 

In today’s crowded market, technical expertise is no longer a differentiator — it’s a given. What sets top agents apart isn’t just what they know, it’s also how they make clients feel. They are not selling insurance. They are selling emotional security, the missing ingredient in financial planning. 

Emotional security is the confidence clients feel when they know someone has anticipated the unknown. It’s peace of mind that comes from knowing a plan exists, not just for income or taxes but also for caregiving, independence and preserving dignity.

Agents who provide emotional security earn deeper client trust, increase multigenerational loyalty, generate more referrals — especially from grateful family members — and create a resilient business that are less vulnerable to market shifts or fee compression.

So, how do you transform LTC Talk Avoidance Syndrome into growth, trust and client loyalty?

Here’s a practical road map.

1. Reframe the conversation. Don’t treat long-term care insurance as an
afterthought or a “nice to have.” Position it as a core pillar of comprehensive protection planning alongside life insurance, annuities and income guarantees. Start by saying, “We plan for what happens if you live a long life, not just what happens if you don’t.”

2. Lead with questions, not products. People don’t want to be sold
something. They want to be heard. Great LTC conversations start with
empathetic, open-ended questions, such as:

• “If your health were to change, where would you want to receive care?”

• “How would you want your spouse or children involved?”

• “Have you thought about how unexpected care costs could affect your lifestyle or your legacy?”

These questions create space for vulnerability. That’s where trust lives.

3. Dispel the myths. Many clients believe:

• LTC planning is only for the ultra-wealthy.

• LTCi covers only nursing homes.

• Medicare will take care of their long-term care needs.

• The cost of LTCi is unaffordable.

Your role is to gently, clearly educate them. Today’s LTC solutions are flexible, scalable and more accessible than ever — especially with hybrid products and combination policies. The market is shifting — and clients are ready.

4. Use tools that fit the client’s needs. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. A thoughtful LTC strategy might include:

• Stand-alone LTCi

• Employer-sponsored LTC programs

• Hybrid life/LTC policies

• Annuities with long-term care riders

• A combination of stand-alone and hybrid

5. Make it ongoing, not one-and-done. Emotional security isn’t created in
 a single meeting. It’s built over time. Use annual reviews to revisit the plan,
adapt to life changes and reinforce your client’s peace of mind, because life will evolve and so must the plan. When agents avoid LTC conversations, they miss: 

• The moment a client realizes “You’re the only person who brought this up.”

• The family meeting where you’re introduced as “the one who thought ahead.”

• The referral from a client’s adult children who saw how you helped their parents.

This is where loyalty is forged. This is where careers are built.

And this is why emotional security isn’t just the right thing to offer; it’s also the smart thing.

I urge you to step into the gap. You can’t control markets, and you can’t predict every health crisis, but you can control how prepared your clients feel.

You can be the one who has the courage to talk about what others avoid. And you can build a business rooted not just in performance but also in peace of mind.

Long-term care planning isn’t about selling policies. It’s about protecting dignity, independence and emotional well-being.

The agents who embrace that truth won’t just sell more. They’ll also matter more.

Don Connelly is a speaker, motivator and educator for financial professionals. Contact him at [email protected].